Most of my influences are turn-of-the-century.

If we look at music history closely, it is not difficult to isolate certain elements of great potency which were to nourish the art of music for decades, if not centuries.

Although technical discussions are interesting to composers, I suspect that the truly magical and spiritual powers of music arise from deeper levels of our psyche.

The rhythms of nature - the sounds of wind and water, the sounds of birds and insects - must inevitably find their analogues in music.

Perhaps two million years ago the creatures of a planet in some remote galaxy faced a musical crisis similar to that which we earthly composers face today.

The retrospective glance is a relatively easy gesture for us to make.

The advent of electronically synthesized sound after World War II has unquestionably had enormous influence on music in general.

Perhaps of all the most basic elements of music, rhythm most directly affects our central nervous system.

I believe that music surpasses even language in its power to mirror the innermost recesses of the human soul

Music might be defined as a system of proportions in the service of a spiritual impulse

I am certain that most composers today would consider today's music to be rich, not to say confusing, in its enormous diversity of styles, technical procedures, and systems of esthetics.

A lake carries you into recesses of feeling otherwise impenetrable.

Avarice is as destitute of what it has as poverty is of what it has not.

The social pressure from friend and acquaintance to collude, to not notice racism, can be quite powerful.

My friend, why should you wish to shorten my life by taking from me my shadow? (To photographer Dr. Valentine T. McGillycuddy.)

The more unknowable the mystery, the more beautiful it is.

Heresy is only another word for freedom of thought.

I was very fascinated with meteorology at a young age. I lived on the Gulf Coast and hurricanes blew through there. That is the class I failed in college: meteorology.

As a celebrity, you get a certain number of free passes. You're actually in a better position if you're a celebrity because people care.

Keep the boss aware. Bosses, after all, are held responsible by their own bosses for the performance of their subordinates. They must be able to say: "I know what Anne [or John] is trying to do."

When I'm riding my bicycle I feel like a Buddhist who is happy just to enjoy his mundane existence